Derech Eretz – Page 44 – Peninim on the Torah

Aharon and his sons shall arrange it… before Hashem an eternal decree for their generations, from the Bnei Yisrael. (27:21)

There is an inspiring Midrash whose commentary on the pasuk “illuminates” for us the significance of, and proper attitude to the middah, character trait, of ha’koras ha’tov, gratitude. Hashem says, “I ask you to light the Menorah for Me not because I need the light. I want you to light it for Me as I illuminated for you (in the Wilderness). Thus, I will elevate your esteem in the eyes of the nations of the world, for they will then say, ‘Yisrael is lighting for the One Who lights for all.’” The Midrash continues by offering an analogy to a…

Home -> 5771 -> Mishpatim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Mishpatim, 5771

He took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the earshot of the people, and they said, “Everything that Hashem has said, we will do and we will obey!” (24:7)

Our greatest moment in history was when we received the Torah. Our nationhood became fused with our acceptance of Hashem’s Word. The anthem of our faith for all time was our resounding declaration, Naaseh v’Nishma, “We will do, and we will obey!” We set the standard of priorities for Jews for all time: we do/we act. The reason will come later. If we understand – good. If not – also good! That is what being a Jew is all about: uncompromising faith; unequivocal commitment. Yet, over time, people have strayed and alienated themselves and their descendants from the Torah. We can…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Mishpatim, 5771

If a man shall steal an ox or a sheep, and slaughter it or sell it, he shall pay five cattle in place of the ox, and four sheep in place of the sheep. (21:37)

The Talmud Bava Kamma 79b distinguishes between a ganav, thief – who steals surreptitiously – and a gazlan, robber, who fears no man and steals publicly. The ganav pays keifel, a fine of double the value of the principal, and arbaah v’chamisha, four and five times the principal depending on whether it is a sheep or an ox, in the event that he sells or slaughters the animal. The students asked Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai why the Torah is more stringent concerning the ganav than it is toward the gazlan. Rabban Yochanan replied that the gazlan has equalized the respect he…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5771

“Whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.” (19:12)

The mountain represents a sphere of holiness that is beyond the reach of the average person. To penetrate the boundaries around it is intensely dangerous to the welfare of the individual. The Chafetz Chaim, zl, derives an important lesson concerning the reverence we must accord to a talmid chacham, Torah scholar. A mountain has no intelligence and no feelings. Yet, simply because it was the place from which the Torah was given, it attained such an element of kedushah, holiness, that the people were admonished not to touch it. How much more so should we revere the Torah scholar who…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5771

“For the hand is on the Throne of G-d: Hashem maintains a war against Amalek from generation to generation.” (17:16)

No people is so reviled by Hashem as Amalek, the archenemy of the Jewish People. Regarding no other nation do we have a commandment to obliterate their name (Devarim 25:17-19). Only Amalek has that “distinction.” Why? What is there about Amalek – his hatred of the Jews and everything that they represent – that differentiates him so? I think the answer lies in Amalek’s attack on us. We were leaving Egypt after two centuries of bitter, brutal persecution. We were not bothering anyone. Yet, for some reason, Amalek felt it necessary to attack us. Why? We were not threatening them…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bo, 5771

Hashem said to Moshe, “Come to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart… stubborn… and so that you may relate in the ears of your son and your son’s son that I made a mockery of Egypt.” (10:1,2)

Hashem informs Moshe Rabbeinu that He is keeping up the pressure on Pharaoh by threatening and exacting greater punishments. All this is for the purpose of teaching the Jewish People how He toyed with the Egyptians. The idea that Hashem manipulated the Egyptians is novel and begs elucidation. Why trifle with people who warrant powerful rebuke and punishment? Hashem punishes the wicked with serious punishments – not by toying with them. Imagine a child acting inappropriately at home. His father’s response is, “I am going to show you what I can do to you.” Obviously, the father is going to…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Vayechi

“So now, please forgive the spiteful deeds of the servants of your father’s G-d.” And Yosef wept when they spoke to him. (50:17)

Yaakov Avinu had passed from this world. Feeling a sense of foreboding, the brothers asked Yosef to forgive them for what they had done to him. They recalled the suffering which had resulted from his sale to a degenerate nation that relegated him to live in miserable dungeons with individuals of base character. Their choice of words (“so now”) intimates that from now on – since Yaakov’s death – they will be seeking Yosef’s forgiveness. What does Yaakov’s passing have to do with the need for forgiveness? In his volume, A Vort From Rav Pam, Rabbi Shalom Smith quotes the Rosh…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Vayechi

Reuven, you are my firstborn…water-like impetuosity – you cannot be foremost… Shimon and Levi are comrades, their weaponry is a stolen craft. (49:3,4,5)

Yaakov Avinu’s blessing to his sons commenced with words of rebuke to his first three sons. The reproof was not pretty – but then, it never really is. It was succinct and to the point, focusing on their errors, expressed without embellishment. It must have hurt. These were grown men, leaders of distinction, from whom the future Klal Yisrael would descend. To their father, however, they were sons, as such, he was obligated to rebuke them. It was not a time for coddling or sugar-coating. Yaakov told it like it was. Chazal laud the brothers’ reaction to their father’s critique. In…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Vayechi

“But as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died on me in the land of Canaan on the road… and I buried her there on the road to Efras.” (48:7)

Earlier, Yaakov Avinu had asked to be buried in the Meoras Ha’Machpeilah. In all fairness, how could Yaakov expect Yosef to do something for him which he himself had not done for Yosef’s mother, Rachel? Sensing that this might be bothering Yosef, the Patriarch explained his actions: It was not his choice to bury the Matriarch on the road, when they were only a short distance from Bais Lechem. Hashem had commanded him to bury her there in preparation for the future, when she would be a source of solace to the Jewish People being led into captivity, following the…

Home -> Vayigash -> 5771

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Vayigash

“The days of the years of my sojourns have been a hundred and thirty years. Few and bad have been the days of the years of my life.” (47:9)

Daas Zekeinim m’Baalei HaTosfos quotes the Mishnah that says Yaakov Avinu was punished for making the above statement, condemning the years of his life as being “few and bad.” As a result of the Patriarch’s “complaint,” his life was shortened thirty-three years, which coincides with the thirty-three words (Pesukim 8-9) expressing this. The question is obvious and glaring: How could Yaakov have made such a statement? The Patriarch was an individual who served the Almighty with all of his heart and soul. How could he declare that his years were “few and bad”? Furthermore, to have made such a statement…

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Aharon and his sons shall arrange it… before Hashem an eternal decree for their generations, from the Bnei Yisrael. (27:21)

He took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the earshot of the people, and they said, “Everything that Hashem has said, we will do and we will obey!” (24:7)

If a man shall steal an ox or a sheep, and slaughter it or sell it, he shall pay five cattle in place of the ox, and four sheep in place of the sheep. (21:37)

“Whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.” (19:12)

“For the hand is on the Throne of G-d: Hashem maintains a war against Amalek from generation to generation.” (17:16)

Hashem said to Moshe, “Come to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart… stubborn… and so that you may relate in the ears of your son and your son’s son that I made a mockery of Egypt.” (10:1,2)

“So now, please forgive the spiteful deeds of the servants of your father’s G-d.” And Yosef wept when they spoke to him. (50:17)

Reuven, you are my firstborn…water-like impetuosity – you cannot be foremost… Shimon and Levi are comrades, their weaponry is a stolen craft. (49:3,4,5)

“But as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died on me in the land of Canaan on the road… and I buried her there on the road to Efras.” (48:7)

“The days of the years of my sojourns have been a hundred and thirty years. Few and bad have been the days of the years of my life.” (47:9)

YEARS

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